Yesterday as I was tooling down the freeway, I came upon a radio interview with a woman who had sold half a ten-year old grilled cheese sandwich on e-bay for $28,000. The sandwich was bought by a casino who now features it in display under glass as a tourist attraction and good luck charm. Now, before you race to your griddle and grab the American slices, you should know that this particular grilled cheese sandwich had on it the image of Mary, the mother of Jesus.
Diana Duyser said that she's not a particularly religious person, but did think that the sandwich with the vision of "the virgin Mary" was a mystery that brought her good luck for the ten years that she kept it in a plastic container surrounded by cotton balls. She told the radio hosts that she had made almost $70,000 in gambling winnings during those years. (Part of the miracle she stated was that after ten year the sandwich hadn't deteriorated. Personally, I'll bet she made it with Velveeta slices. Those things could make it through Armageddon in one piece.)
Though she has sold the Virgin Mary Sandwich, she is going on tour with it to "share it with the world."
Now, as odd as this might seem, in another serious story, Pope John Paul II gave to the Eastern Orthodox church relics believed to be of St. Chrysostom and St. Gregory Nazienzen that they had held for 800 years. The Pope gave the relics "back" to the Orthodox church as a gesture to heal rifts between the two churches.
So, what is the significance of things like these? Certainly not theological. Our faith does not depend on such items. But does it not point to a deep yearning by all people for a "touch" or "taste" of the Divine? Tommorrow, I'll say more about the Christmas incarnation and the "touchable" God.
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